Microtome blade holder and anti-roll means therefor



Jan. 4, 1966 N. J. ZEYTOONIAN 3,

MIGROTOME BLADE HOLDER AND ANTI-ROLL MEANS THEREFOR Filed Sept. 23, 19632 Sheets-Sheet 1 I awenfofl: News J. Zeyioozuluz, by ifiwney Jan. 1966N. J. ZEYTOONIAN 3,227,020

MICROTOME BLADE HOLDER AND ANTI-ROLL MEANS THEREFOR United States Patent3,227,020 MICROTOME BLADE HOLDER AND ANTLROLL MEANS THEREFOR Nerses J.Zeytoonian, Waltham, Mass., assignor to International Equipment Co., acorporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 310,575 8Claims. (Cl. 83162) The present invention relates to blade holders formicrotomes and to anti-roll attachments therefor.

, Microtomes are widely used in sectioning prepared tissue samples byeffecting relative movement between a cutting edge and the sample holderwith sections of as little as two (2) microns in thickness beingsometimes desired.

The effectiveness of a microtome depends on various factors with oneimportant factor being the quality of the cutting edge and thesupporting means therefor. Special knives are commonly used andmicrotomes are provided with holders in which such knives are clamped.

Because commercially available razor blades combine low cost withcutting edges of uniform keenness, such are often used in microtomes andthe present invention is concerned with holders for such blades that canbe clamped to the holders of the microtomes and provide ease andconvenient to the operator in replacing blades and ensuring theirmaximum effectiveness in cutting even the thinnest sections.

In accordance with the invention, these general objectives are attainedby providing a blade holder that comprises a support to be clamped inplace in the rnicrotome holder and includes a backing portion for arazor blade to the lower edge of which portion a blade clamp is hinged.

The support and the clamp have portions that are offset relative to thehinge axis of the clamp with one such portion underlying the other.As'crew is threaded upwardly through the underlying portion and is inengagement with the overlying portion thereby to be operable to urge theblade clamp into clamping engagement with a blade positioned on thebacking portion of the support.

Embedded in the blade backing portion of the support is a permanentmagnet to hold a blade securely in place until the clamp may be closedagainst it. In addition, where the razor blade is of a double-edgedtype, the backing portion is provided with holding means for entry intoand to extend through the central aperture with which double-edgedblades are conventionally provided. The provision of the permanentmagnet holds the blades so securely in their precise position of usethat they may be installed without the necessity of removing the bladeholder from the holder of the microtome.

In the use of a microtome, the tendency of a section to curl or roll asit is being cut is a problem usually requiring the use of means toprevent such rolling and an important objective of this invention is toprovide blade holders in accordance with the invention with such means,conveniently, but not necessarily, as an attachment therefor.

This objective is attained by pivotally connecting an anti-roll plate tothe holder so that it may swing towards and away from the outer face ofthe clamp with its lower edge protruding below the lower edge of theclamp. A leaf is loosely carried by the clamp-actuating screw and isyieldably held, by a coil spring carried by the screw, in engagementwith that edge and the clamp, and yielding to permit the anti-roll plateto be swung outwardly and downwardly from an operative position intoface-to-face contact with the leaf.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an embodiment of theinvention illustrative of these and other of the objectives, novelfeatures, and advantages.

. the fiange and into engagement with the seat 18 and 3,227,020 PatentedJan. 4, 1966 ice In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a blade holder clamped in the knifeholder of a microtome,

FIGURE 2 is an end view thereof,

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of the blade holder by itself,

FIGURE 4 is a partly sectioned end view holder on an increased scale,

FIGURES 5 and6 are sections, on the scale of FIG- URE 4, taken along theindicated lines 55 and 6-43, respectively, of FIGURE 3, and z FIGURE 7.is a fragmentary section similar to FIGURE 5 but on-an increased scale.

A knife holder of a microtome is generally indicated at 10 and itincludes a pair of seats. 11 against which the of the blade ends of asupport 12 of a blade holderare securely held as by clamps 13.

The support 12 has a central backing portion 14rd Embedded in thebacking portion 14 is a permanent magnet 16 and additional blade holdingmeans are provided in the form of screws 17 whose heads are dimensionedto enter and extend through the blade slots 15A.

The lower edge of the backing portion 14 is above but parallel to thelower edges of the remainder of the support 12 to establish a seat 18between and above outwardly disposed cars 19 threaded to receive pivots20 by which a blade clamp 21 is attached with the hinge axis beinglengthwise of the lower part thereof. The blade engaging face of theclamp 21 has recesses 17A to accommodate the blade supporting heads ofthe screws 17., The clamp 21 includes a flange 22 extending under theseat 18 and a screw 23 is threaded upwardly through operable to urge theclamp 21 into clamping engagement With the blade 15.

In order to prevent a section of a prepared specimen from rolling as itis being cut, a transparent anti-roll plate 24 is provided. The plate 24has a shallow way 24A for the section and is shown as attached to aplate 25 by screws 26 passing through vertically extending slots 27enabling the relationship of the upper edge of the plate 24 to thecutting edge of the blade 15 to 'be adjusted. The plate 25 has, aboveits lower edge 25A, inwardly disposed, marginal tabs 28 apertured toenable the plate 25 to be attached to the blade holder by means of thepivots 20. The plate 25 has a marginal tab 25B to facilitate its beingswung into its operative and inoperative position relative to the bladeclamp 21.

When the anti-rollplate 24 is seated against the outer face of the clamp21, the lower edge 25A protrudes below the lower edge of the clamp andis engaged by a leaf, preferably a leaf spring 29 loosely held by thescrew 23 and by the coil spring 30 confined thereby which maintains theleaf spring 29 against the edge 25A and against the clamp 21 butyielding to permit the anti-roll plate 24 and its attaching plate 25 tobe swung outwardly and downwardly until the lower part of the plate 25is in face-to-face contact with the leaf spring 29. The leaf spring isheld against lateral movement by spaced tabs 25C at the bottom edge ofthe plate 25.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that blade holders inaccordance with the invention are of a simple but rugged constructionand enable the cutting edges of the blades to be precisely adjusted evenwithout removing the blade holder from the holder of the microtome.

I claim:

1. A blade holder for microtomes, said holder comprising a supportincluding a backing portion for a blade,

a blade clamp hinged to said support adjacent the lower edge of saidportion, said support and said clamp including portions, one underlyingthe other and laterally offset relative to the hinge axis between saidsupport and said clamp, and a screw threaded upwardly through theunderlying portion and engageable with the overlying portion andoperable to urge said clamp into clamping engagement with a bladepositioned on the backing portion of said support, an anti-roll platepivotally connected to said holder to swing towards and away from theouter face of said clamp and with its lower edge protruding below thelower edge thereof, a leaf loosely carried by said' screw and engageablewith said protruding plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp, and acoil spring carried by said screw seating said leaf against said plateedge and the lower edge of said clamp and yielding to permit saidpivoted plate to swing outwardly and downwardly into face-to-facecontact with said leaf.

2. A blade holder for rnicrotomes, said holder comprising a supportincluding a backing portion for a blade, a blade clamp hinged to saidsupport adjacent the lower edge of said portion, said support and saidclamp including portions, one underlying the other and laterally offsetrelative to the hinge axis between said support and said clamp, and ascrew threaded upwardly through the underlying portion and engageablewith the overlying portion and operable to urge said clamp into clampingengagement with a blade positioned on the backing portion of saidsupport, an anti-roll plate, a plate pivotally connected to said holderto swing towards and away from the outer face of said clamp and with itslower edge protruding below the lower edge thereof, and adjustableconnection between said plates enabling the position of the upper edgeof said anti-roll plate to be adjusted relative to the upper edge ofsaid clamp, a leaf loosely carried by said screw and engageable withsaid protruding plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp, and a coilspring carried by said screw seating said leaf against said plate edgeand the lower edge of said clamp and yielding to permit said pivotedplate to swing outwardly and downwardly into face-t-o-face contact withsaid leaf.

3. A blade holder for rnicrotomes, said holder comprising a supportincluding a backing portion for a blade, a blade clamp hinged to saidsupport adjacent the lower edge of said portion, said support and saidclamp including portions, one underlying the other and laterally offsetrelative to the hinge axis between said support and said clamp, and ascrew threaded upwardly through the underlying portion and engageablewith the overlying portion and operable to urge said clamp into clampingengagement with a blade positioned on the backing portion of saidsupport, an anti-roll plate pivotally connected to said holder coaxiallywith said clamp and with an edge protruding below the lower edge of saidclamp, a leaf loosely carried by said screw and engageable with saidprotruding plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp, and a coilspring carried by said screw yieldably seating said leaf against saidplate edge and the bottom edge of said clamp and yielding to permit saidpivoted plate to swing outwardly and downwardly into face-to-facecontact with said leaf.

4. A blade holder for rnicrotomes, said holder comprising a supportincluding a backing portion for a blade, a blade clamp hinged to saidsupport adjacent the lower edge of said support, and a screw adjustmentbetween said clamp and said support and operable to urge said clamp intoand out of clampingv engagement with a blade positioned on the backingportion of said support, an anti-roll plate pivotally connected to saidholder to swing towards and away from the outer face of said clamp andwith its lower edge protruding below the lower edge thereof, a leafloosely attached to said holder and engageable with said protrudingplate edge and the lower edge of said clamp, and a coil spring attachedto said holder seating said leaf against said plate edge and the loweredge of said clamp and yielding to permit said pivoted plate to swingoutwardly and downwardly into face-toface contact with said leaf.

5. The blade holder of claim 4 in which the anti-roll plate has asection-receiving way extending from top-tobottom of the face thereofthat is disposed toward the clamp.

6. The blade holder of claim 4 in which the anti-roll plate includes afirst tissue-confining portion and a second portion which overlaps thetissue-confining portion and is connected thereto to permit thetissue-confining portion to be adjusted vertically relative to theclamp.

7. The blade holder of claim 4 in which the anti-roll plate including afirst portion having a. section-receiving way extending fromtop-to-bottom of the face thereof that is disposed towards the clamp anda second portion which overlaps the lower portion of the first portionand is connected thereto on both sides of the way for adjustmentsvertically relative to the clamp.

8. The blade holder of claim 4 in which the lower edge of the anti-rollplate is U-shaped and straddles the protruding end of the leaf.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 854,814 5/1907Durham 3074 1,865,539 7/1932 Pietzsch, 83-698 2,643,579 6/1953 Jacoby.

2,705,834 4/1955 Lundy 30-74 2,901,944 9/ 1959 Sparer.

FOREIGN PATENTS 341,494 1/ 1931 Great Britain.

WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

ANDREW I. JUHASZ, Examiner.

1. A BLADE HOLDER FOR MICROTOMES, SAID HOLDER COMPRISING A SUPPORTINCLUDING A BACKING PORTION FOR A BLADE, A BLADE CLAMP HINGED TO SAIDSUPPORT ADJACENT THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID PORTION, SAID SUPPORT AND SAIDCLAMP INCLUDING PORTIONS, ONE UNDERLYING THE OTHER AND LATERALLY OFFSETRELATIVE TO THE HINGE AXIS BETWEEN SAID SUPPORT AND SAID CLAMP, AND ASCREW THREADED UPWARDLY THROUGH THE UNDERLYING PORTION AND ENGAGEABLEWITH THE OVERLYING PORTION AND OPERABLE TO URGE SAID CLAMP INTO CLAMPINGENGAGEMENT WITH A BLADE POSITIONED ON THE BACKING PORTION OF SAIDSUPPORT, AN ANTI-ROLL PLATE PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID HOLDER TO SWINGTOWARDS AND AWAY FROM THE OUTER FACE OF SAID CLAMP AND WITH ITS LOWEREDGE PROTRUDING BELOW THE LOWER EDGE THEREOF, A LEAF LOOSELY CARRIED BYSAID SCREW AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID PROTRUDING PLATE EDGE AND THE LOWEREDGE OF SAID CLAMP, AND A COIL SPRING CARRIED BY SAID SCREW SEATING SAIDLEAF AGAINST SAID PLATE EDGE AND THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID CLAMP ANDYIELDING TO PERMIT SAID PIVOTED PLATE TO SWING OUTWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLYINTO FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT WITH SAID LEAF.